Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has said elections are inherently imperfect all over the world, urging Nigerians to accept that no electoral process can be completely flawless due to the logistical and human challenges involved.
Fashola made the assertion on Friday while delivering a lecture titled ‘Democracy Beyond Elections’ at The Platform Nigeria Special June 12 Lecture in Lagos.
The event, themed “Governance, Democracy, National Security,” was organised by the Covenant Christian Centre, led by Pastor Poju Oyemade, as part of activities marking the June 12, 2026 Democracy Day celebration.
Speaking on the need for national consensus in democratic governance, Fashola said Nigerians must first agree that elections, like those conducted in other parts of the world, are not perfect.
“Do we agreed as a people that elections are an imperfect event all over the world? They are never perfect because it is a large and challenging logistic undertaking. So, perfection is aspirational,” he said.
According to him, the complexity of organising elections across thousands of polling units makes it impossible to eliminate every challenge.
He noted that during presidential elections, officials and voters across more than 176,000 polling units are expected to perform the same task simultaneously despite differences in background, preparation and circumstances.
“And so, with imperfections, are we agreed that we should accept the results? Or are we agreed that it must be INEC’s fault? Even when the INEC chairman cannot be in all of those 176,000 polling stations,” he said.
Fashola argued that established democracies acknowledge electoral shortcomings, continue to improve their systems and peacefully accept election outcomes.
“In other jurisdictions, they recognise the imperfections, they aspire to improve, but they accept the results. They move peacefully and calmly to accept the position of opposition,” he stated.
He described opposition politics as a vital component of democracy, saying the refusal to accept election outcomes often prevents unsuccessful candidates and parties from playing constructive opposition roles.
“The role of opposition is as important, if not more important, than the role of those in government,” he said.
The former Lagos State governor stressed that democracy extends beyond periodic elections and requires citizens to build consensus around critical national issues.
“Consensus does not disable opposition. On the contrary, it sharpens the alternative that they represent,” he said.
Reflecting on the significance of June 12 Democracy Day, Fashola recalled the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, describing it as a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
“This should have been an ordinary day, just another ordinary day. We had gone to vote and we had expected while we were monitoring the results that the votes would be counted. Then the abnormal happened.
“The votes were stopped, the elections were subsequently annulled and June 12 became not just a date anymore, it became an event, a cause and a movement, an agitation that took local, international and global centre stage,” he said.
He said the struggle that followed the annulment eventually led to the restoration of democratic rule in 1999 and remains a defining chapter in Nigeria’s history.
Fashola also called for national consensus on issues such as taxation, foreign policy, parliamentary oversight, healthcare, education funding, labour relations and political party accountability.
On taxation, he questioned whether political parties had clearly articulated their positions during recent debates on fiscal reforms.
“Can you truly have a representative government, a democratic government, without a debate about taxation? That is the basis of representation,” he said.
The former minister further challenged Nigerians to reflect on the country’s identity, asking whether Nigeria should be regarded primarily as a nation or merely a country.
“Are we a nation or are we a country? We use those words somewhat interchangeably, but they mean different things,” he stated.
